Sundance Film Festival Announces Midnight And Spotlight Titles

As we get set to head into December we begin to reflect on the movie year that has just passed, and the truth is that 2012 could be one for the record books. We’ve seen just about everything this year, with great, huge blockbusters (like The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and The Hunger Games); impressive Oscar-worthy efforts (like Argo, The Master, and Life of Pi) and small-but-amazing in-between titles (like The Cabin in the Woods, Seven Psychopaths, and ParaNorman). But in just a little over a month the calendar will roll over and we will have to wait and see how 2013 stand up in comparison. And that stars with the Sundance Film Festival.

Every year the Park City, Utah event kicks things off, and this January will be no different. Earlier this week the titles set to face off in both the narrative and documentary competitions were announced, but today we have even more films for you - namely the Spotlight and Midnight lineups

Check out the full list of titles below, which includes an S&M title from James Franco (Interior. Leather Bar.), the new film from Take Shelter filmmaker Jeff Nichols (Mud) and the horror sequel to VHS (S-VHS).

SPOTLIGHT

Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love.

Gangs of Wasseypur / India (Director: Anurag Kashyap, Screenwriters: Anurag Kashyap, Zeishan Quadri) — Exiled and outcast for robbing British trains, Shahid Khan spurs a battle for revenge that passes down generations. Shahid's son vows to get his father's honor back, becoming the most feared man in the Indian town of Wasseypur. Cast: Manoj Bajpai, Nawazuddin Siddique, Richa Chadda, Huma Qureshi, Tigmanshu Dhulia. U.S. Premiere

The Gatekeepers (documentary) / Israel, Germany, Belgium, France (Director: Dror Moreh) — Since its stunning military victory in 1967, Israel has hoped to achieve a long-lasting peace. Forty-five years later, this has yet to happen. Six former heads of Israel’s Secret Service reflect on the successes and failures of the “peace process.”

Mud / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jeff Nichols) — Two teenage boys encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help him evade the bounty hunters on his trail and reunite him with his true love. Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Reese Witherspoon. North American Premiere

No / Chile, U.S.A. (Director: Pablo Larraín, Screenwriter: Pedro Peirano) — When Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet calls for a referendum to decide his permanence in power, the opposition persuades a young advertising executive to head its campaign. With limited resources and under scrutiny, he conceives a plan to win the election. Cast: Gael García Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Antonia Zegers, Luis Gnecco, Marcial Tagle, Néstor Cantillana.

Sightseers / United Kingdom (Director: Ben Wheatley, Screenwriters: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram) — Chris wants to show girlfriend Tina his world, but when events conspire against the couple, their dream caravan holiday takes a very wrong turn. Cast: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram. U.S. PremiereStories We Tell (documentary) / Canada (Director: Sarah Polley) — Sarah Polley is both filmmaker and detective as she investigates the secrets kept by a family of storytellers. She unravels the paradoxes to reveal the essence of family: always complicated, warmly messy and fiercely loving.